Newspapers, radio stations serve as a ‘lifeline’ for residents after major storm damage from Helene

The Henderson Lightning was chock-full of storm
information and free. (Henderson Lightning photo)

In the aftermath of terrible storm damage in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida, many residents found themselves in dire need of reliable information about the damage and recovery efforts.

Local media organizations stepped up with round-the-clock radio broadcasts, updated information online and even free newspapers.

The Hendersonville Lightning, based about 25 miles south of Asheville, N.C., offered its newspaper for free to readers and packed its paper and website with storm-related coverage. As the community began its recovery efforts, The Lightning’s coverage included updates on power restoration, information about how to get rid of debris and details on which health centers were open and which ones were still closed.

In a thoughtful note to readers on Oct. 2, Editor Bill Moss explained why they were giving readers access to the newspaper for free and how else they were trying to navigate in the aftermath of the storm.

"Amid all the hardship and challenges in the post-Helene world, the last thing we want to ask people to do is dig for four quarters to get news of this historic disaster," Moss said. "We've unlocked racks at six locations in and around the city. These are the only racks that will be filled this week. For the sake of our distribution team, first responders and utility crews, we want to avoid adding traffic on hazardous roads."

After letting readers know details about where to find the free newspapers, Moss also wrote: “Subscribers are welcome to grab one, too, as we don't know when they'll get home delivery via U.S. mail of this week's issue” . . . . “Bear in mind, too, of course, that we're continuously posting updates on the website on the disaster, recovery, how to get help and more.”

Brian Stelter of CNN wrote about how the marathon broadcasts at radio stations in and around Asheville served residents with vital information and comforting reassurance.

“As communications across the region remained severed for many, the voices on the radio became a lifeline for locals in dire need of reliable information; sharing updates on road closures; opening the phone lines to anyone with working wireless or landline phones; and reassuring listeners that help is on the way from government organizations and volunteer groups,” Brian Stelter of CNN reported.

“WWNC, the oldest station broadcasting in western North Carolina, and six other stations owned by iHeart came together to simulcast their coverage of the weather emergency, host Mark Starling told CNN."

And “Blue Ridge Public Radio provided live coverage on the radio and online, including lists of 'who to contact' for help with missing persons and power outages.”

College student voters are 'propelled by concerns that directly affect them,' such as the economy, global warming

College students working to get youth registered to
vote. (Photo by Yunuen Bonaparte, Hechinger Report)

This year's election issues have energized college student voters to weigh in on state and national issues. "Students had a decisive impact in several battleground states in 2022," reports Jon Marcus for The Hechinger Report, which covers education. "And they want to do it again."

Whereas college voters have typically had lower election turnout numbers, state and national debates over big topics have inspired more younger voters to engage. "Young people say that they’re propelled by concerns that directly affect them, such as global warming, the economy, reproductive rights," Marcus writes. "More than half of Americans ages 18 to 24 turned out for the 2020 general election."

Heated partisanship has led younger voters to get involved. College student activist Andrew LoMonte, told Marcus, "What people are realizing is that the issues the candidates are talking about actually matter to us. . . . You’d think the dysfunction would scare people off, but it’s a motivator."

The younger vote matters most in swing states where winning margins can be razor-thin. "Young voters had “a decisive impact” on Senate races in 2022 in battleground states including Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia and Pennsylvania. . . . Sixty-six percent of college students voted in 2020, up 14 percentage points from 2016. Younger students ages 18 to 21 voted at the highest rates of all."

States with abortion-related referendums have seen big jumps in youth voting registration. "College students were widely credited last year with helping elect a liberal candidate to the Wisconsin state Supreme Court, which is due to take up two major abortion cases," Marus adds. "They have also registered and voted at high rates in several swing states."

Increases in youth voting registrations do not necessarily mean "that high youth voter turnout in November is assured. The proportion of college students who voted in the 2022 midterms was down from the record set in 2018," Marcus notes. "Not all groups of students vote in equally high numbers. . . . [In 2020] students majoring in education, social sciences, history, and agricultural and natural resources turned out at the highest rates; those in engineering and technical fields, at the lowest."

Opinion: Iowa editor considers where Americans can 'find center again' after this year's elections

Art Cullen

By Art Cullen

Editor, The Storm Lake Times

What comes after Nov. 5? Most Americans and the betting markets believe that Kamala Harris will win the election. . . . No matter what happens, we need to find center again. Quick like.

What the Republic cannot endure, and which gives enemies of freedom oxygen, is the contempt that has taken hold American-to-American.

We talk past each other and grow apart.

How do we talk to the other side?

We know what we want in Iowa: clean air and water, safe schools that teach you how to be a citizen, good food and good basketball, smooth roads and friendly neighborhoods, easy access to comprehensive and affordable health care. The ability to prosper. That’s pretty much it.

We’re not getting what we deserve, except for the basketball.

Trump and Harris voters can agree on that. So we should start there.

Farmers who vote Republican are not gung-ho for pipelines going wherever the power brokers would like, and neither are environmentalists. Each likes supporting more on-farm conservation. White males and Black women are suspicious of unchecked corporate power. A lot of union members will vote Republican for a whole host of reasons, but find common cause with Democrats on basic human equity.

We all want to strengthen rural healthcare. We like independent producers and businesses. . . . It’s not as if there is not common ground. . . . Right-to-repair is not left or right. Neither is enforcement of anti-trust laws. . . . We all recognize that it is tough to fill jobs in food and agriculture because it’s tough work. Nobody expects to get rich, but they expect respect and a wage that lets them get ahead.  

This is why people are anxious and don’t think that things are working their way. They’re not. Things work for people with a firm grip on power. We can organize ourselves around how to make our place better, instead of how we can lock up our adversaries.

It starts with city hall, the courthouse and the school house. It starts by us talking about issues and confronting power that prevents progress. It starts by listening. . .

Art Cullen is the editor of the The Storm Lake Times in Storm Lake, Iowa, covering Buena Vista County and parts of neighboring Clay, Pocahontas, Sac, Ida and Cherokee counties. This opinion was lightly edited.

Simply adding ground limestone to rivers and oceans could decrease global warming, but the challenges are many

Rivers

naturally

deliver

carbon

to

the

ocean,

preventing

it

from

entering 

the

atmosphere.
(CarbonRun graphic)

Scientists aim to fight global warming by adding ground limestone to oceans and rivers, report Brad Plumer and Raymond Zhong of The New York Times. The Earth's water sources "contain carbon dioxide that is constantly escaping into the air, where it traps heat and warms the planet. Adding limestone converts some of that carbon dioxide into a stable molecule that instead stays underwater and washes into the sea, where it should remain trapped for thousands of years."

Oceans already play a big part in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. "By speeding up that process, scientists believe even more carbon could be packed into those watery depths," the Times reports. "One idea is known as alkalinity enhancement, which involves adding limestone, magnesium oxide or another alkaline substance to rivers and oceans, changing their chemistry in a way that makes them soak up more carbon dioxide."

The company, CarbonRun, is putting the new science to the test, with its first limestone silo under construction in Nova Scotia. Later this year, "the machine will grind up limestone inside a tall green silo and release the powder into the nearby West River Pictou, creating a chalky plume that should dissolve within minutes," Plumer and Zhong explain. With the addition of powdered limestone, the water will do the rest. "Scientists estimate that similar methods deployed in oceans could remove billions of tons per year."

Despite its promise, the technology faces challenges from nature and unanswered questions. While dumping ground limestone in a river may be successful, full-scale drops into oceans would be more complex and require massive amounts of ground limestone. The Times reports, "toying with ocean chemistry also carries unknown risks. Some environmental groups worry that even early experiments with these techniques could threaten fish and other aquatic life."

To mitigate environmental pushback, CarbonRun’s founders are "proving that adding limestone to rivers doesn’t just take carbon out of the air — it can also safely benefit local ecosystems," Plumer and Zhong add. "It’s relatively straightforward for CarbonRun to show that adding limestone to rivers converts some carbon dioxide into a stable bicarbonate. . . .The harder part is mining and moving the limestone cheaply."

Quick hits: Trucks for farmers; guide for emergency alerts; Native Americans enter elections; PORKtober is here!

AGwagon kits make trucks tough enough for farming.
(Photo by Matthew J. Grassi, Farm Journal)

Farmers who want a truck built for the rigors of farming can now make one with "AGwagon," aftermarket kits, reports Matthew J. Grassi of Farm Journal. "There has never been a pickup truck 100% purposely built for farmers and ranchers. . . . The kits convert off-the-factory-line trucks into rugged and tough, back 40 devouring, farm equipment hauling beasts. . . . The AGwagon kits were built off feedback from a panel of 14 farmers and ranchers."

Signing up for emergency alerts may sound simple, but often it's not. This group made an emergency alert guide that can be a model for other communities, reports Natasha Uzcátegui-Liggett of CalMatters. "If you’re interested in publishing a comprehensive emergency alert guide for your state, you can start with our article on CalMatters (it’s free to republish if you credit us clearly, and the majority of it applies to all states), and then swap out the section titled 'How to sign up for your county’s alerts' with your reporting for your state. . . "

Humans and other animals have more than one 'prong' of defense against germs.
(Knowable graphic)

Immune systems are part of living creatures' defenses against bacteria and viruses, but they aren't the only type of protection. "Some scientists think we should devote more attention to a second prong of defense: one that allows our bodies to more harmlessly live with pathogens until they’re cleared from our systems," reports Liam Drew of Knowable. "There is a substantial body of research showing various ways in which animals can tolerate, and so survive, maladies such as malaria, sepsis and dysentery."

Dr. Stephen Loyd

He was a physician, then an opioid addict, and now he's West Virginia's "drug czar," reports Leah Willingham of The Associated Press. "Dr. Stephen Loyd, who has been treating patients with substance use disorder since he got sober two decades ago, says combating opioid addiction in the state with the highest rate of overdose deaths isn’t just his job. It’s an integral part of his healing. . . . Loyd says he is ready to help advise the state's foundation on how to distribute the nearly $1 billion in settlement money saying the state has a 'moral and ethical responsibility' to spend it wisely."

Amid election year tensions and negativity, there are some bright spots. This November, "a record-breaking number of Native Americans are running for state and local office," reports Daniel C. Volk of Route Fifty. "Advance Native Political Leadership, a group that works to increase Native American representation at those levels of government, says there are 230 Native candidates running across the country this year, up from 100 when it first started counting in 2016. About 80% of this year’s candidates are women."

Deanne Frieders

It's PORKtober, and "This Farm Girl Cooks" web writer Deanne Frieders can help you decide "what's for dinner," even if you're delivering supper to a field of workers, reports Jennifer Shike of Farm Journal. "As a cook, she loves how versatile pork is to cook with as it can take on so many flavor profiles from Italian to Tex-Mex to Asian." To explore Frieders' website full of farmer-friendly meals, click here.

PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," can cause devastating health issues for humans, partially because they build up in the body over time. Much of the concern over PFAS has been their "everlasting" presence in U.S. water supplies, but this town has succeeded in removing them, reports Pien Huang of NPR. "Yorba Linda is a small, sunny city southeast of Los Angeles. It’s home to the nation’s largest per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) water treatment plant of its kind." The plant can serve as a model for other communities.

Small paper in Oregon wins its public records battle and receives Poynter Institute's First Amendment award

Les Zaitz

In 2017, Malheur County, Oregon, was promised a rail center that would change the economic future for the area. As the project got underway, Les Zaitz, publisher of the community's newspaper, the Malheur Enterprise followed its progress. When the buildout started to falter, Zaitz doggedly reported on it, reports Nicole Slaughter Graham of The Poynter Institute. "As the Enterprise continued to publish updates about the project, backlash from the county ensued, and records requests either went unanswered or took several weeks or even months to come through." To keep his community informed, the paper and Zaitz sued the county for access to the records, and won.

The project "could have been life-changing for the residents of Malheur County, 14.9% of which live in poverty — more than any other county in Oregon," Graham explains. Years later, the Treasure Valley Reload Center project remains unfinished, but many residents of Malheur County know some of the reasons why -- because their local paper reported on it. "Zaitz committed to publishing updates on the project. It was bleeding money with no real results. . . . Zaitz knew the community stakes were high."

Location of Malheur County in
Oregon (Wikipedia map)

The county tried to paint the Enterprise as being against the project. Zaitz responded by "publishing pieces that drew back the curtains on the journalistic process, letting readers know how the reporting was going, what documents had been acquired," Graham adds. Zaitz told her, “I’d explain to people why this fight is occurring, and that this is not the Malheur Enterprise’s information. [Public records] are your information, and this is how you judge what your public officials are doing.”

Many Enterprise readers were grateful for the integrity and information provided by their newspaper. Zaitz told Graham, "I found that people really appreciated someone to sort of stop and explain in plain terms." Graham reports, "In September 2022, the Malheur Enterprise and Zaitz sued (Greg) Smith," who was overseeing the project, "citing that the paper was repeatedly denied access to public records and that [the project's manager] had knowingly tampered with, and even destroyed documents."

Throughout the lawsuit process, the Enterprise continued to report on the Reload Center's progress. "In spring 2023, the county settled the lawsuit and agreed to pay the Enterprise $40,000. The payout was arguably the least substantial aspect of the settlement," Graham writes. "Additionally, the county’s lawyer, in a rare legal move, admitted to the county’s wrongdoing."

There's more to this happy ending for Zaitz's Malheur Enterprise -- it earned The First Amendment Award for 2024 from the Poynter Institute. Graham reports, "Judges pointed out that the Enterprise’s public records reporting was, 'A fantastic example of a small paper doing big work to effect real change in the local community.'"

The Institute for Rural Journalism, which is based at the University of Kentucky, presented Zaitz with the Tom and Pat Gish Award for tenacity, courage and integrity in rural journalism in 2018 during the early stages of his reporting on the project. 

Outdated 911 systems mean dispatchers sometimes misdirect help. Two technologies could provide solutions.

Outdated technology limits dispatchers' effectiveness.
(FirstNet photo)

In an emergency, most people call 911 and expect a dispatcher to answer the call and send help to the correct place. But U.S. emergency centers are facing their own crisis and not every dispatch is getting sent to the right place, reports Chris Teale of Route Fifty. "With outdated technology that is prone to outages, as well as low staffing and maps that may not be up to date with the newest streets," emergency responders are sometimes misdirected. Many 911 services still rely on 1980s technology, with many rural communities lagging behind their urban counterparts.

The situation sounds dire, but "experts say there’s a possible solution to these problems," Teale explains. "The interplay of two technologies —FirstNet and Next Generation 911 — could help bolster 911 dispatching and bring it up to date. . . . But it will take time, money and political support to make it a reality -- even though there is broad agreement on the issues dispatchers face."

FirstNet "gives public safety agencies their own interoperable broadband network in partnership with AT&T," Teale explains. "It covers more than 2.97 million square miles across every state and territory, and was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks highlighted shortcomings in emergency response communications networks." FirstNet technology could benefit rural America where its high-power towers and satellites can reach more remote places faster and more accurately.

From better location services to the ability to receive scene photos or texts from callers, Next Generation 911-technology helps dispatchers and emergency responders locate and manage a crisis more effectively. FirstNet's dedicated connections work in tandem with Next Generation's features. But the systems can be cost-prohibitive for communities. Teale adds, "Some have urged the federal government to step in and bear some of that cost."

Many rural hospitals have reduced services or closed, but some communities are building new or updating old ones

New hospital construction in Sublette County, Wyoming.
(Sublette County Hospital District photo via KFF)

Some rural communities in Wyoming, Kansas and Georgia are "bucking the trend" and building new hospitals instead of closing them. Sublette County, Wyoming, is one of those places. The county has never had a hospital, but it's building a 10-bed, 40,000-square-foot hospital, "with a similarly sized attached long-term care facility," reports Sarah Jane Tribble of KFF Health News. "New full-service hospitals with inpatient beds are rare in rural America, where declining population has spurred decades of downsizing and closures." The county's residents approved a tax increase to help fund their build.

Wyoming Hospital Association President Eric Boley, told Tribble, "To be honest with you, it even seems strange to me." Small rural “hospitals are really struggling all across the country." Tribble writes, "There is no official tally of new hospitals being built in rural America, but industry experts such as Boley said they’re rare. . . . Nearly 150 rural hospitals have closed or converted to smaller operations since 2010."

To stem rural hospital closures, the federal government began offering hospitals the option to remain open as emergency care facilities. "Since January 2023, when the program took effect, 32 of the more than 1,700 eligible rural hospitals have joined the program," Tribble explains. Tony Breitlow, a rural health care expert, told Trible that for some rural hospital groups, transitioning to emergency care only is an example of “systems figuring out how to remain robust and viable.”

Meanwhile, some rural areas have the funding to build new care facilities. "Freeman Health System, based in Joplin, Missouri, announced plans last year to build a new 50-bed hospital across the state line in Kansas," Tribble reports. "Paula Baker, Freeman’s president and chief executive, said the system is building for patients in the southeastern corner of the state who travel 45 minutes or more to its bigger Joplin facilities for care."

Some hospital developments in Wyoming and other states have tapped into federal dollars for support.  "Since 2021, the Department of Agriculture's Rural Community Facilities Programs have awarded $2.24 billion in loans and grants to 68 rural hospitals for work that was not related to an emergency or disaster," Tribble adds. "Nearly all the projects are replacements or expansions and updates of older facilities."

U.S. dams are aging and vulnerable to failure; many communities will have to decide between removal or repair

Flooding in Wisconsin after a massive storm in 2018. (National
Weather Service photo via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Deteriorating dams have left many U.S. communities searching for affordable, safe options. "Dams across the country are aging, and also facing pressures from urban sprawl and intensifying floods wrought by climate change," reports Madeline Heim of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The price tag to fix what’s broken, though, is estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars, meaning dam owners could face hard questions about what to do with them."

The rural town of Viroqua, Wisconsin, is grappling with the impending failure of its "50-foot earthen dam, locally known as 'Maple Dale,'" Heim writes. Currently, other Wisconsin communities face the same dam problems. "Local officials are voting on whether to dismantle the dams by cutting large notches in them, allowing the water to flow again, in a process called decommissioning. Experts say it could be the most dams ever decommissioned in a single county in the U.S."

Across the country, more communities are or will soon face the problems caused by aging dams. "In the American Society of Civil Engineers’ latest Infrastructure Report Card, released in 2021, the group gave the nations’ more than 91,000 dams a “D.” That’s largely because of their age — the average age of a dam in the U.S. is over 60 years old," Heim writes. "On top of that, climate change is leaving question marks about how dams will perform under new weather conditions."

No matter which option officials choose -- repair or removal--there are steep expenses involved. "The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021, provided somewhat of a shot in the arm: $3 billion was earmarked for dam safety, including $118 million for the rehabilitation of the USDA watershed program dams," Heim reports. Lori Spragens, executive director of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, told Heim, "I think we are going to see more dams under stress, or even failing. It’s not really fun to look at in the future.”

Opinion: Understanding how fentanyl 'saturated the U.S. drug supply' could help address the addiction crisis

Naloxone can prevent overdose deaths, but it's expensive.
(Adobe Stock photo)

The current U.S. opioid crisis started with painkiller prescriptions in the early 2000s, but once medical providers started nixing those medicines, heroin's popularity surged, and then fentanyl and its "tsunami" of death entered the market, reports Maia Szalavitz of The New York Times. "Understanding how fentanyl saturated the drug supply, moving from the East Coast of the U.S. to the West, is critical to ending the worst drug crisis in American history."

Drug cartels' greed drove the creation and use of fentanyl. "By 2013, cartels had realized that they could slash their labor, manufacturing and transit costs by replacing heroin derived from farm-grown opium with a powder made in a lab — fentanyl," Szalavitz writes. "Before 2018, 80% of all deaths associated with fentanyl occurred east of the Mississippi. . . . Since 2021, at least two-thirds of America’s 100,000 annual overdose deaths involved a synthetic opioid like fentanyl."

While heroin was considered a more urban drug, "increased opioid prescriptions — followed by sharp reductions — resulted in new heroin users in rural areas," Szalavitz explains. "Illegally manufactured fentanyl began appearing in both urban and rural drug markets. . . . Rural West Virginia and other Appalachian regions were the center of the earliest prescription opioid wave of the crisis, which led to the establishment of new heroin markets in places facing job loss."

Combating opioid addiction and overdose deaths liked to fentanyl is tough because the drug's supply chain and use is now deeply embedded across the country. The drug is cheap to make and buy, and provides an exceedingly potent high for the user. "So, what can be done? The answer is to focus on the drivers of demand, not supply. This means addressing the roots of addiction and treating it compassionately," Szalavitz writes. "We have a great generic opioid overdose antidote, naloxone. . . . And two medications — methadone and buprenorphine — have proved to cut the risk of death among people with opioid addictions by 50% or more when used long-term."

Szalavitz adds that people often start doing drugs because their lives feel hopeless. "Addiction is most often an attempt to escape despair. The condition itself is defined by compulsive drug use despite negative consequences, which is why threats of punishment or even death rarely yield recovery. . . . It’s not coincidental that the exponential rise in overdose deaths has occurred in tandem with a profound increase in income inequality."

Bound by a passion to protect a 'pristine corner of Colorado,' this 'ragtag organization' helped change government policy

A hiker enjoys the White River National Forest, which overlaps
with the Thompson Divide. (Adobe Stock photo)

A shared passion for protecting Colorado's Thompson Divide brought together a group of people with few other interests in common. "The drilling leases in a pristine corner of Colorado seemed like a done deal. But then an unlikely alliance of cowboys and environmentalists emerged. And things changed," reports Zoë Rom for The New York Times. "Their campaign could serve as a model for future environmental efforts."

Located in west-central Colorado, the Thompson Divide "overlaps with part of the White River National Forest, one of the most visited national forests in the U.S.," Rom explains. The area is also "home to endangered lynxes and one of the expansive organisms in the world: the state’s largest Aspen stand, a colony of trees connected by a lateral root system."

The region is beloved by hikers, conservationists, ranchers, cyclists and snowmobilers, some of whom formed "the self-described ragtag organization" now known as the Thompson Divide Coalition, Rom writes. The coalition added legal assistance from Peter Hart, legal director for Wilderness Workshop, a nonprofit environmental group in Carbondale, Colorado. Together the movement developed "a novel legal strategy that helped win a 20-year pause on new oil and gas development across the area."

Originally, the group tried and failed to buy back the 80-some oil and gas leases the Bush Administration had issued on the Thompson Divide. When leaseholders turned down the the coalition's offers, Hart's legal team scrutinized the sales. There they found "that the federal government’s haste to issue leases had left them with vulnerabilities," Rom reports. "For one thing, opportunities for public comment during the leasing process appeared to be inadequate, an apparent violation of the National Environmental Policy Act."

More legal digging led to "administrative challenges, which eventually sent one leaseholder to federal court against the Bureau of Land Management," Rom explains. With the lease's legal and administrative problems exposed, "leaseholders who had declined to sell were now eyeing the exits in light of potential legal complications and public discontent around drilling."

With new technology, many 988 suicide and crisis hotlines will be able to use caller 'georouting' to help provide care

Many 988 crisis service calls will soon be aided by geolocation technology. (988lifeline photo)

Despite the 24/7 availability of the 988 suicide and crisis hotlines across the country, U.S. suicide rates have continued to climb, with rural states facing some of the highest losses. One of the 988 program's biggest shortcomings has been its lack of caller location services, but that's about to change, reports Deidre McPhillips of CNN. "Carriers have started to adopt a new technology that helps direct callers to 988 hotlines to help centers based on their physical location rather than their phone number’s area code."

Adding the new technology means 988 hotline counselors will be able to connect callers with services and follow-up support where they live. "Verizon and T-Mobile started rolling out the 'georouting' technology last week. . . . AT&T also plans to begin the process within the next couple months," McPhillips explains. "Next month, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on a rule that would require all wireless carriers in the U.S. to implement georouting for 988 calls."

Some mental health advocates have voiced concerns over caller privacy; however, georouting differs from geolocation in that "it does not provide a precise location for the caller," McPhillips adds. "Instead, it aggregates information about a caller’s location to help them reach local support while maintaining their privacy." 

The 988 lifeline began in July 2022, replacing the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline with "a broader focus and a simpler dial code," McPhillips reports. The lifeline now includes services such as "American sign language and Spanish. . . . a special veterans crisis line, and an LGBTQ+ youth and young adult line." 

Opinion: When even 'losing by less' helps, Democrats must engage rural voters. Wisconsin's Baldwin shows the way.

Tammy Baldwin campaigning in the Badger state.

If Democrats want to gain votes in rural America, they need to be present to win. In tight races, even cutting into Republican margins can swing an election -- "Just ask Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin," writes Karen Tumulty in her opinion for The Washington Post.

Last year, Baldwin kicked off her re-election campaign in conservative Richland County, Wisconsin, where Trump soundly won in 2020. But Baldwin also won the county. She's had a history of reaching out to rural communities, listening to their issues and touting her wins. Tumulty adds, "She cites bringing home $1.1 billion in federal funds to expand high-speed internet across Wisconsin and millions more to address the shortage of available child care that is particularly acute in rural areas."

Baldwin's strategic success with rural voters may be unusual, but other Democrats are catching on. "This year, Democrats up and down the ticket are waking up to something Baldwin recognized long ago: That Democrats cannot afford to ignore rural America, even as it has swung harder to the right," Tumulty adds. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who joined Baldwin's "One Year to Win” state tour kickoff, told Tumulty, “Elections in my state and here in Wisconsin often come down to a percentage point or less. You got to show up everywhere. You got to make sure that you’re meeting people where they are in communities like this that maybe historically haven’t voted your way.”

The Harris-Walz ticket also has taken from Baldwin's playbook. Tumulty writes, "They've made a point of campaigning in places like southern Georgia and western Pennsylvania, where they have little chance of winning outright but hope to cut into Trump’s margins. . . . It is the rare Democratic politician like Baldwin who can still win in rural areas. But in battleground states where polls show the race as tight as it is, even losing by less could make all the difference."

This rural town's main employer closed its doors; laid-off workers consider their few options in southern Virginia.

The purveyor of delux and premium deli-meats
closed its Jarratt, Va. plant.

The indefinite closure of a Boar's Head production facility in Jarratt, Virginia, is an added blow to the rural town's economy where the company was the largest employer. Boar's Head decided to close the plant after it was linked to a severe listeria outbreak, which has killed 10 people and hospitalized 59.
Now, laid-off Boar's Head workers must face a tough job market in manufacturing-depressed southern Virginia, reports Chao Deng of The Wall Street Journal. "For decades, the Boar’s Head deli meat plant has been one of few economic pillars holding up this rural, downbeat part of southern Virginia."

Even though Boar's Head is offering workers severance pay and the possibility of relocation, the sudden closure has left workers shocked and unsure. Deng writes, "Many are scrambling to figure out how to pay their bills and whether they can even stay in a region battered by waves of layoffs and closed businesses."

Many workers believe finding a new job will most likely mean accepting a long commute. Manufacturing work in Virginia has been fading since the 1990s "when the elimination of trade barriers invited global competition," Deng reports. "Textiles and furniture-making went by the wayside." Fletcher Mangum, an economic consultant from Richmond, Virginia, told Deng, "The job opportunities [in southern Virginia] are not good. Manufacturing has had ups and downs but it never quite recovered from the losses of Nafta."

Overall, Virginia's state economy has struggled, with its rural southern and western regions having suffered the steepest declines. Deng writes, "Year-over-year employment in Greensville County, where the Boar’s Head plant is located, has mostly underperformed that of the state since 2017. . . . Manufacturing makes up about 30% of the economy in Greensville, compared with about 7% for the state."

Greensville resident Marvin Tiller has worked in factories that closed "most of his career," Deng reports. "Before getting laid off from Boar’s Head, the 51-year-old worked for two companies that shut down operations in the area more than a decade back — he was a crane operator for a steel company called Emporia Foundry, as well as a delivery man for Fujifilm Pharmaceuticals. . . . [He's] thinking about getting out of factory work altogether."

Flora & Fauna: Celebrity goat; pest-resistant tomatoes; eye-popping foliage; grizzlies on the move; pawpaw popularity

Crisco hasn't let stardom go to his head. He enjoys hiking
and roaming just like not-famous goats. (Facebook photo)

For people needing novel bucket-list items, adding a visit to see Crisco, the roaming goat turned celebrity, might be an excursion. "For nearly a decade, Crisco, who escaped a roundup, has ruled the bluffs overlooking this reservoir straddling Arkansas and Missouri," reports Jim Carlton of The Wall Street Journal. "His legend exploded after a Facebook page began chronicling his exploits three years ago. Now some 14,000 followers eagerly await Crisco updates."

It may seem unbelievable, but after 30 years of lab work, "Researchers finally completed a new line of tomatoes, bred with natural pest-resistant qualities, reports Shea Swenson for Ambrook Research. "Plant breeder and geneticist Martha Mutschler-Chu is about to successfully hand off new lines of pest-resistant tomatoes to any interested seed company, where they can ultimately be bred for commercial sales. . . . As far as Mutschler-Chu’s tomato is concerned, the process of creating it is considered traditional cross-breeding, not genetic modification."

The Midwest is predicted to have 'electric' fall colors. (Adobe Stock photo)

Fall is leaf-viewing season, and the country's heartland is the place to gawk. "Some of the most colorful displays could be in the Midwest. AccuWeather, the commercial forecasting service, said in early September that it expects especially vibrant foliage in states such as Michigan and Illinois," reports Patrick Whittle of The Associated Press. "The service also said powerful, popping colors are expected in upstate New York and parts of Pennsylvania, while New England will follow a more typical color pattern."

Ambrook map, from ArcGIS data,
click to enlarge

Grizzly bears haven't lived on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island for 10,000 years, but that may be about to change. Brian Payton of Hakai magazine writes, "There they were. . . a grizzly sow and two cubs browsing in the grass. As the cubs rose onto their hind legs, Joyce Ellis raised her camera, capturing a portrait of a family poised to change the course of natural history."

Fall bird migrations are in full swing and while there are lots of ways to follow favorite feathered friends, Birdcast has some incredible tracking tools, including real-time predictions of bird migrations, a migration dashboard and local bird migration alerts. To show birds more love, CornellLab offers seven simple actions to help birds thrive.

The charming hoiho (A.S. photo)

Delightful, shy and a little bit stinky, the "hoiho," or yellow-eyed penguin won New Zealand's 2024 Bird of the Year election," reports The Associated Press. Although the country's avian elections are "fiercely fought," there's little talk of "interference scandals and cheating controversies of past polls," instead campaigners start "meme wars, seek celebrity endorsements and some even [get] tattoos to prove their loyalty. . . . Hoiho supporters hope that recognition from its victory might prompt a revival of the endangered bird."

The pawpaw’s green skin, and its 'custardy'
interior (Photo by Kat Arazawa, Civil Eats)

For farmers and fans, September means a delicious trip to the pawpaw patch. "Pawpaws are America’s largest edible native fruit, and their ineffable mystique will bring thousands of visitors to the farm’s annual pawpaw festival in late September," reports Ben Seal of Civil Eats. "Festivals in several states give people a chance to taste the fruit for the first time. . . a blend of banana, mango, and pineapple, so soft it’s eaten with a spoon. . . . Research and plant breeding efforts are underway to explore and expand its potential as a sustainable low-input, high-value crop that could figure into the future of small farms throughout the eastern U.S."

A huge U.S. lithium mine needed for EV battery production vs. a flower found nowhere else in the world

Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine site (ioneer photo)

Step by step, the Biden administration inches closer to green-lighting ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada, reports Ernest Scheyder of Reuters. Last week, it "published a key environmental report [which is] the last step needed before approving what would become one of the largest U.S. sources of the electric vehicle battery metal." But some conservationists are adamantly against the mine opening despite its cleaner energy purpose.

Ioneer's path to opening has been ongoing for at least six years while the project was reviewed. "The Bureau of Land Management published a final environmental impact statement, that sets in motion a review period of at least 30 days before a record of decision -- essentially a mine's permit -- can be issued," Scheyder explains. "BLM also published an opinion on how a rare flower at the mine site can best be protected."

The rare Tiehm's buckwheat flower (CBD photo)

The site is home to Tiehm's buckwheat flower, "which is found nowhere else on the planet and was declared an endangered species in 2022," Scheyder reports. "The Center for Biological Diversity and some other conservation groups thus oppose ioneer's project." Patrick Donnelly of CBD called Tiehm's buckwheat flower a "linchpin of the local ecosystem, harboring a highly diverse pollinator community."

It's hoped the mine's lithium production can help the U.S. combat Chinese metal production. Scheyder writes, "The U.S. Geological Survey has labeled lithium a critical mineral vital for the U.S. economy and national security. The proposed mine, roughly 225 miles north of Las Vegas, contains enough lithium to power roughly 370,000 EVs each year."

The deployment of broadband from coast to coast gets mixed reviews at a U.S. House subcommittee hearing

More rural states like Montana have struggled with
broadband deployment rules. (Adobe Stock photo)

Part of the bipartisan infrastructure law aims to expand access to high-speed internet for all Americans. The rollout and the millions of dollars attached are overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment, or BEAD, program.

NTIA was under the scope last week during a House subcommittee hearing on how BEAD was faring, reports Chris Teale of Route Fifty. The hearing included testimony about positive progress alongside criticisms. "The program said it has approved initial plans for 48 of the states and territories that are eligible to receive funding. . . . GOP subcommittee members argued that the program is too complex, not technology neutral, and has onerous pricing and workforce mandates" that make it harder for states to succeed.

Even though NTIA announced the approval of Montana’s plan in early August, Misty Giles, the state's chief operating officer and director of the state Department of Administration "said in her written testimony that NTIA’s requests and shifts in its guidance to states 'are akin to building a plane while flying it without having the necessary instructions to be successful,'" Teale writes. "She said the 'litany' of requirements place an undue burden on states looking to implement BEAD.'"

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington state and the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, "said the 'burdensome red tape' from NTIA has created continued delays in the approval process," Teale reports. "NTIA rejected the House subcommittee’s criticism. According to a fact sheet the agency shared, the federal government has made more than $20 billion available in funding and met or exceeded all deadlines imposed by the infrastructure law to keep the program on track."

The hearing hashed out other issues, including technology-neutral needs for some states, and low-cost requirements on internet service providers, which some committee members felt was government overreach. Still, many praised the program's planning and acknowledged its broad challenge. “Subcommittee members gave NTIA credit for recently announcing it would seek comment on the use of alternative technologies in BEAD," Teale reports. "Giles said, 'I understand that trying to have all states and territories swimming in the same direction in the same lane is no small task.'"

American suicide rates continue to climb, with some rural states seeing double the number of deaths. Why?

When it comes to suicide prevention, what works where
hasn't been found. (Photo by A. Nath, Unsplash)

After decades of suicide prevention funding and plan roll-outs, the number of self-inflicted deaths in the United States has only increased, with some rural states shouldering double the number of deaths compared to their urban counterparts, reports Cheryl Platzman Weinstock of KFF Health News.

"From 2001 through 2021 suicide rates increased most years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Provisional data for 2022, the most recent numbers available, shows deaths by suicide grew an additional 3% over the previous year. CDC officials project the final number of suicides in 2022 will be higher," Weinstock adds. "Suicide rates in rural states such as Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming have been about double those in urban areas."

Meanwhile, mental health experts maintain that the ideas and educational programs aren't to blame for the results. Instead, they say, "the policies simply aren’t being funded, adopted, and used," Weinstock reports. "That slow uptake was compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which had a broad, negative impact on mental health. National experts and government officials agree the strategies simply haven’t been embraced widely."

How suicide data is determined and reported isn't uniform yet either. "Without accurate statistics, researchers can’t figure out who dies most often by suicide, what prevention strategies are working, and where prevention money is needed most," Weinstock writes. Without more clarity, deciding on the best preventative practices can become impossible. Interventions that work in sparsely populated Wyoming, may not work in the more populated farming towns of southern Indiana.

Other means to prevent or address suicide attempts also have gaps. "The fledgling 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline [also] faces serious problems," Weinstock reports. "Only 23% of Americans are familiar with 988 and there’s a significant knowledge gap about the situations people should call 988 for, according to a recent poll. . . . Most states, territories, and tribes have also not yet permanently funded 988, which was launched nationwide in July 2022."

While some regions are introducing 988 awareness campaigns, several states, including Colorado, are trying something new. Weinstock explains, "State officials installed financial incentives for implementing suicide prevention efforts, among other patient safety measures, through the state’s Hospital Quality Incentive Payment Program. . . .The program hands out about $150 million a year to hospitals for good performance. . . . Experts hope other states will follow Colorado’s lead."

Virologists are worried about a human 'bird flu' pandemic; wastewater testing in Texas signals the disease's spread

Bird flu transmits from wild birds to other animals, including dairy
cows. At least 14 people have been infected. (Adobe Stock photo)

As bird flu continues to spread among U.S. dairy cows, the disease has become more adaptable, with 14 human cases reported since March. "Both are worrying developments, say virologists, who fear that the country’s meager response to the virus is putting the entire world at risk of another pandemic, reports Jessica Hamzelou of MIT Technology Review. "Infections in dairy cattle, first reported back in March, brought us a step closer to human spread. Since then, the situation has only deteriorated." Researchers have even found evidence of bird flu, or H5N1, in wastewater in 10 cities.

Even though H5N1 spreads stably in global bird populations, the disease has also infected their predators. "The list of affected mammals includes bears, foxes, skunks, otters, dolphins, whales, sea lions. . . . Some of these animals appear to be able to pass the virus to other members of their species," Hamzelou explains. "This is bad news — not just for the affected animals, but for people, too. It’s not just a bird flu anymore. And when a virus can spread in other mammals, it’s a step closer to being able to spread in humans."

How dangerous the virus can become depends on how it mutates, which isn't predictable. Scientists do know that the virus is effectively circulating and evolving. Hamzelou reports, "So far, it's clear that the virus has mutated but hasn’t yet acquired any of these more dangerous mutations, says Michael Tisza, a bioinformatics scientist at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. That being said, Tisza and his colleagues have been looking for the virus in wastewater from 10 cities in Texas—and they have found H5N1 in all of them."

For now, Tisza and his colleagues "don’t know where this virus is coming from — whether it’s coming from birds, milk, or infected people, Hamzelou adds. "But the team didn’t find any signal of the virus in wastewater during 2022 or 2023, when there were outbreaks in migratory birds and poultry." Tisza said, “In 2024, it’s been a different story. We’ve seen it a lot. . . . This virus is not causing a human pandemic right now, which is great. But it is a virus of pandemic potential."

Renewables helped some states breeze through this summer's punishing heat and energy demands

Renewable energy has helped some states meet
or exceed energy needs. (Adobe Stock photo)

This summer's extreme heat forced energy operators to rely on solar and wind electricity to keep the U.S. grid humming, even as Americans "cranked their air conditioning," report Katherine Blunt and Jennifer Hiller of The Wall Street Journal. "Extreme heat pushed electricity demand to new highs . . . . States such as California and Texas that in recent years have bet big on renewable energy and battery storage easily met electricity demand."

California and Texas residents in some areas had "experienced rolling blackouts in 2020 and 2021, respectively. In 2022, grid operators in both states called on residents to conserve electricity during extremely hot weather and almost resorted to rolling blackouts as supply margins shrank," the Journal reports. "Since then, California. . . has built one of the world’s largest fleets of batteries that store solar power during the day and discharge it in the evening. Texas, meanwhile, now rivals California in storage capacity."

Even during this summer's extreme heat, the flow of energy in California was markedly different. "As extreme heat blanketed much of the West this summer, regional power demand reached a record high of nearly 168,000 megawatts on July 10," Blunt and Hiller explain. "Yet California, which has historically imported large amounts of electricity from other states during heat waves, had surplus to send elsewhere. . . . Temperatures also surged in Texas, [where] there was plenty of solar to meet peak demand around 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., and adequate wind power in the evening."

States that don't yet house the energy storage of Texas or California have tighter margins to manage. "Lanny Nickell, chief operating officer of the Southwest Power Pool, which operates part of the grid and a regional power market stretching from the Texas Panhandle to North Dakota, said his organization this summer had its smallest-ever seasonal cushion of electricity reserves," the Journal reports. "He said it is working to encourage investments in a range of new resources, as well as new means of importing power from other areas when supplies are tight."